1981 Volume 78 Issue 8 Pages 1599-1605
Complications of inflammatory bowel disease were studied in 35 patients with ulcerative colitis and 10 patients with Crohn's disease.
Bowel complications included massive hemorrhage, toxic megacolon, perforation, precancerous lesion, fistula formation, stenosis and anal lesions.
Extra-intestinal complications included skin and mouth lesions, joint disorders, liver disease, anemis and hypoproteinemia.
In ulcerative colitis, complications were more frequent with increasing severity and extent of disease.
In Crohn's disease, hypoproteinemia was more frequent in patients with small bowel disease, while anal lesions were more frequent in patients with colonic involvement.
Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease had most complications (intestinal or extra-intestinal) in common.